Too Close for Comfort

John 19: 25-27

Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, His mother's sister Mary, (Wife of Cleopas), John, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, 'Woman, behold your son!' Then He said to the disciple, 'Behold your mother!' And from that hour, that disciple took her to his own home.

Luke 24:13-18

Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened. So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him. And He said to them, “What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?” Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, “Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?”

Over the years, I never made the connection until recently. We see here 2 different events but an unusual connection between the 2. Mary's sister Mary is the wife of Cleopas...Cleopas was Joseph's brother! This indicates that Mary is an in-law, which would explain why the 2 sisters have the same name. It is also possible that the forms of Mary are not expounded on. In other words, Miriam, Maria, are also forms of Mary, but are not differentiated in the text.  This alone, is not unusual...what seems to be unusual to me is this...

If Mary and Cleopas are family...WOULDN'T THEY RECOGNIZE WHAT JESUS LOOKED LIKE? If anyone could recognize Jesus, it would be Mary's folks right? Well, consider the setting, and the events...

Jesus, their Nephew has been executed as a criminal...they are followers of His cause and believe He was the true Messiah...now that is all gone...no doubt Mary related these events to Cleopas - SHE WAS AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS WITH JOHN! Cleopas and a friend of his was probably on their way to tell the other disciples...

By this time, Jesus shows up, but Cleopas was so downcast and discouraged, he couldn't even recognize his own flesh and blood.

I believe the lack of recognition from him is similar to our lack of recognition...many times, we can't recognize Jesus because - we are not looking for Him or, we are so filled with discouragement and / or despair, we can't see Him, even if He was right in front of us!

So close, yet so far away...as Believers, we should be able to recognize Jesus, at all times. Whatever you do brothers and sisters, don't allow your circumstances distort your vision of who and where Christ is...believe me, no matter what you're going through - HE IS ALWAYS RIGHT THERE

Along for the Ride

1 Corinthians 16:8-9

8 But I will tarry in Ephesus until Pentecost. 9 For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.

After much prayer, listening to the voice of God, and the unanimous voting of my Counsel...as of September 16th, I will serve the Potter's House Christian Church of Pasadena TX as a Full - time Pastor! One of the things I've prayed to God is, 'Lord please let me accomplish something as a minister; I want to bring a church to full - time status, and I want to launch men into the Harvest Field...well, one down, and one to go! I am a very blessed and privileged man to be able to see this through...God has truly blessed me and has watched over my family through it all! 

I'm sincerely grateful for my wife (of 21 years), who is more than willing to go along for the ride!!  She has been faithful to me and has been more than willing to follow me wherever Jesus has decided to take us...from Virginia Beach, to Evangelizing, to Dallas, and now here in Pasadena TX...it's an amazing journey that keeps on getting better!! We've seen God do some powerful things, and it's only gonna get better - we are in the process of moving into a new building nearly 3 times the size we're in now...the location is awesome, and moreover, the people are so excited!!

I'm not delusional; I understand that by going full time, we as a church declared war on hell! I must confess though, we've been through so much hell, anything else would simply be run of the mill, but I'm no fool...I believe that as we strap up as believers, that God will make miracles happen along the way - I'm praying constantly for 'Handfuls on Purpose.'

It's no secret that we're excited, and I can't wait until we get into the building and watch God cause us to outgrow that space as well!!  We're gonna launch churches, and do what Jesus has commanded us to do...TAKE THE LAND FOR JESUS CHRIST!!